Director Brian K. Rosenthal’s “Fever” is a short but sweet spooky tale that uses a parent’s anxiety against them. He accentuates the anxiety with the introduction of a spooky creature, one that has absolute feature length potential. Fingers crossed. “Fever” does what most spooky stories do by taking a real world anxiety and completely elevates it in to a horrifying tale.
Jennifer is a mother who is tucking her daughter Emmy in to bed one night and takes her temperature to learn she has a fever. With the already bad news, Emmy is terrified that the mysterious Shadow Man will come for her in the middle of the night. As Jennifer tries to ease her terror, she learns that Emmy probably isn’t completely paranoid.
There’s not a ton of back story on the characters (which is one of the only caveats), but Rosenthal compensates with the great direction. The film packs in tension and suspense, as well as wonderful cinematography that turn darkness and shadows in to its own menace. The pay off including the mysterious shadow man is fantastic and I left it wanting more. I’d definitely want to know what about fevers attracts the shadow man and how it finds its victims, et al. You can definitely feel the Freddy Krueger themes present. That said, “Fever” works on its own as a great horror treat for folks that appreciate atmosphere and a unique premise.